Jade: Reminisce
by Courtney Ravensdale
Summary: Non-Sburb AU. Jade recalls the first time she met with Dave in person. Fluffy fluff is fluffy.


Jade Harley was out shopping. Again. It had only been a week since she last went out for groceries, but somehow Dave always managed to make all the food disappear….

She shrugged and adjusted her sunglasses while keeping her green eyes on the road. When she reached the grocery store she (carefully) parked and left the car. Jade was kind of sick of going shopping every week, but she didn't buy as much as she would if shopping majorly only once a month.

With a curved smile on her face, she fondly recalled her first chat with Dave over Pesterchum.

* * *

—gardenGnostic (GG) began pestering turntechGodhead (TG) at 14:28—

GG: hello! is this dave?

TG: oh hell what the fuck

TG: did egbert give you my chumhandle

GG: yes he did!

GG: john seemed to think we would be good friends

TG: oh did he now

TG: isnt that just fucking dandy

TG: hes given it to two people now

TG: first it was the psycho rose chick

TG: and now you

TG: who the fuck are you anyways

GG: i'm jade!

TG: well um nice to meet you

TG: i guess

TG: i'm dave

TG: but you already fucking knew that

* * *

Jade giggled while browsing the store for eggs. He'd seemed so flustered. Over the course of a few years, she had managed (with the help of a lot of selling things over eBay) to save enough money to fly to the U.S., to where John lived. He and his father had been very kind to her, and John decided that she was going to live with them. John's dad hadn't objected, as she was (technically) an orphan. After signing a few papers, she became Jade Egbert-Harley, and she dropped the Egbert part on most occasions. Jade also met Rose through John, and met her in person when John's dad had a business trip to New York. John and Jade accompanied him, and dropped by on the (suspecting) Lalondes.

About a year after that (right before her seventeenth birthday), Dave had asked to finally meet her. Mr. Egbert bought her a ticket for her birthday, having known Dave was going to ask, and allowed her to fly to Texas to meet him.

It had been interesting, to say the least…

* * *

flashback

* * *

Jade stepped off the airplane and into the terminal, holding her duffel bag close. She followed the flow of people towards the baggage claim, and she wondered why in the world so many people came to Texas in ___business suits, _for crying out loud. Weren't they ___hot? _She was hot in a t-shirt and shorts.

Dave had messaged her on Pesterchum when she had first told him she was flying to see him that he would convince his brother to come pick her up at the airport when she landed. She pulled her phone out to dig up another old message, about how his brother looked.

TG: my bro is cooler than i am

TG: he wears pointy ass anime shades

TG: and carries around a puppet

The ebony-haired girl frowned at her device. What did he mean? Her phone buzzed in her hand.

—timaeusTestified (TT) began pestering gardenGnostic (GG) at 21:04—

TT: Well, if you're Jade, you look fucking lost.

Jade looked up. There was only one car in the terminal, since it was nine o'clock now. The person standing at the car was platinum blonde, with impenetrably dark shades that vaguely looked like a w.

She typed a reply.

GG: please tell me you're dave's brother!

GG: i really don't want to have to call a taxi!

TT: Well, let's see.

TT: If you're the dark-haired chick with all of one bag and looking somewhat like a puppy, then I am Dirk Strider, brother of Dave Strider.

Jade looked up, and looked around. There were some other people sitting nearby, but they were businesspeople and looked as if they were waiting for a taxi/limo service.

The man smirked and called, "Hey! Get your pretty little ass over here, better not keep my bro waiting!"

Jade snatched her duffel off the ground and ran over to the car. "Hi," she said timidly. "I'm Jade Harley." She held her hand out in front of her for a shake.

Dirk accepted it. "Dirk Strider," he replied. "Just call me Bro, everybody does." He smiled at her. "You've got a strong grip, girl. What did you do out on that island you lived on?"

Jade smiled a little back. "Target practice." She indicated her duffel. "Can I put my bag in the backseat, or should it go in the trunk?"

"Backseat's fine." Bro opened both doors on the passenger side of the car and flashstepped to the driver's side to get in.

Jade tossed her bag in the backseat, closed the door, and slid into the car. After pulling the door shut, she pulled her buckle across while Bro started the car and took off.

"So, what kind of target practice do you mean?"

"Guns of all sorts. My grandfather used to hunt the fauna on the island, so he taught me how to defend myself. Naturally, he also taught me how to shoot."

Bro bobbed his head. "I've done something similar with raising Dave, except with swords. In fact, our fridge is filled with them…"

Jade laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

The pair made it to the Strider's apartment rather quickly, and Bro carried Jade's bag up to the apartment for her. He casually kicked the door open and yelled, "Hey asshole!"

Jade smiled. Bro seemed like such a laid-back guardian.

"What!"

With a turn of her head, Jade listened better to Dave's voice and took off her sunglasses.

"I'm doing something, fuckass! Can't you leave me alone for one fucking minute?"

Bro sighed. "Sorry about this," he said to Jade. "You better come fucking greet our ___guest, _asswipe!"

Jade shook her head. "It's alright." She heard something crash to the ground in what she assumed was Dave's room.

"Well you could have said you invited your girlfriend over!"

"Not ___my _girlfriend, more like ___yours._" Bro was totally calm, as opposed to Dave, who sounded to be in the middle of something.

Jade barely picked up a quieter "What the ___fuck_?" before footsteps came in towards the main area of the apartment.

Enter Dave Strider.

Man, she had not pictured him to look quite as he did. Shirtless, that is.

At that moment, he was wearing just a pair of jeans. Much to the approval of her standards, they were at least pulled up like a normal person, and his sandy-blonde hair was a mess. He had simple aviator shades over his eyes, darkened like his brother's shades. He was taller than her by six or seven inches at the least.

Jade regarded him through tired green eyes. His body was…nice. He wasn't a super-muscular guy, nor was he a stick. He was the perfect balance of both.

She couldn't keep herself from slipping a snide remark as her intro. (Rose expressed her pride later.) "Forget I was coming?"

"Well, ___shit. _You're Jade Harley."

"And you're Dave Strider." She tried not to smile. "Well, here I am, we've met. Now what?"

"Jegus, have you been taking lessons from Rose or something? You're almost as snarky as she is."

"Maybe, maybe not. You still cooking up some sick fires?"

"Yeah, wanna hear some?"

"Sure, maybe after I get some sleep."

She ended up sleeping in Dave's bed, Dave slept on the floor next to her, and Bro hadn't moved from the futon. Her stay lasted three days and two nights, and during that time Dave ended up giving her two gifts: a mix CD, after showing off his sick skills, and a ring with a broken record emblem. "To remember me by," he'd said.

* * *

day of her flight back

* * *

Dave drove Jade back to the airport, and helped her to the security check. She was wearing her ring, dressed in jeans and one of her old t-shirts. She was walking towards the check after hugging Dave goodbye, with a promise to visit again.

"Hey." His voice caught her attention.

She turned. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I forgot you were coming."

Jade smiled. "I don't mind, we had fun."

Dave smirked. "I'm glad."

She turned to go, but his voice stopped her again.

"Jade…"

She looked back at him again.

He was blushing a little bit, and his smirk had disappeared. He looked her right in the eye (or so she thought). Confused, she walked back to in front of him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's just…" He trailed off, seemingly unable to word his thoughts. "I think you're amazing, Harley. You're really pretty, and smart, and you can derp a little like Egbert sometimes, but you're awesome like he is, and-"

She pulled him down to her level by his shirt collar. "Dave."

He put on the coolkid facade. "Jade."

With her free hand Jade put her forefinger on the bridge of his shades. She began to inch them downwards, expecting him to stop her, but was surprised when Dave didn't.

His eyes were closed when she took them off.

Jade began, "Can you…"

His eyes fluttered open, and she was shocked to see Dave's irises were bright red. She didn't have time to process the information before he kissed her.

The kiss was sweet, gentle even. Her eyes were wide under her glasses, while his were closed. Her bag slipped out of her fingers and fell to the floor, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. As he deepened the kiss slightly, the thought that maybe Dave was trying to tell her something flitted across her mind.

Her mind was a little preoccupied with sorting out her feelings. Sure, she'd dated before, but there were never feelings like these involved. The relationships were short and rather awkward. The not-even-couple would break up a few days after their first and last date.

What Dave was trying to say, though, that was a whole different matter. Jade had known Dave for a long time, and considered him a very close friend. The question remained: was she willing to fall in love with him?

The answer: perhaps she already had. She kissed him back with the passion and longing he was putting into the action. His lips curved into a smile against hers, and they both pulled back for air.

Jade giggled. "I guess that sums it up, huh, cool kid?"

He let out a cough-turned-laugh. "I guess it does, he replied.

She laughed and stood up straight to press her lips to his again. After pulling away, she whispered, "Keep Pesterchum open, I'll message you as soon as I can."

"'Kay."

Jade picked up her bags after an embrace with the cool kid, then headed towards security for the last time.

"Hey, Harley," he called.

"Yeah?" She looked back.

"Make sure to tell Egbert. That'll mess with his Prankster's Gambit." Dave was smirking, shades replaced over his crimson eyes.

Jade grinned. "I will!" She darted into the security station as Dave walked out.

He pulled out his phone and typed a message into Pesterchum.

—turntechGodhead (TG) began pestering gardenGnostic (GG) at 11:46—

TG: see you later harley

—turntechGodhead (TG) ceased pestering gardenGnostic (GG) at 11:47—

* * *

—gardenGnostic (GG) began pestering turntechGodhead (TG) at 14:52—

GG: i know i will :)

—gardenGnostic (GG) ceased pestering turntechGodhead (TG) at 14:53—


End file.
